Town Square

Guest Opinion: Help Palo Alto win 8.5 miles of trails for the community

Original post made
on Nov 2, 2012

On behalf of the Palo Alto City Council, the Palo Alto Unified School District, Stanford University, and Stanford Campus Residential Leaseholders, we are working hard to win a $10.4 million grant to benefit the Palo Alto and Stanford communities. We are writing to encourage community members to help us in this effort.

The most important pedestrian/bicycle project in Palo Alto right now is undoubtedly the bridge over Hwy 101 at Adobe Creek. This is a vital route for both families walking out to the Baylands and commuters heading to their in the north Shoreline area.

The old path under the highway is inadequate because it was closed so often, including all of this year.

I noticed that the city has installed bike route markings along San Antonio Road as an alternative, but come on, how many parents will let their kids bike on San Antonio Road?

Posted by Resident
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Nov 2, 2012 at 11:32 am

Very worried about the idea of bike trails for mountain bikes. These are typically very dangerous routes for serious mountain bikers and are not good for inexperienced bikers, children or hiking. They are also a draw for serious mountain bikers from across the region.

Please clarify the difference between bike paths and mtb trails. They are very different.

I believe that Liz Kniss has earlier come out in favor of using this money for the pedestrian bridge over Hwy 101 in southern Palo Alto and to fix the gap in the San Francisco Bay Trail between East Palo Alto and Menlo Park (near the Dumbarton Bridge). The bridge is in the new proposal, but the Bay Trail is not.

Personally, I like Kniss's proposal which focuses on big important projects that would be difficult to fund otherwise. A lot of the stuff in the new proposal is small and less important projects that could easily be funded on a piece-by-piece basis from the general fund.

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